1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a timer device for children and, more particularly, it relates to a children""s timer device for indicating waking time and sleeping time in an easy and understandable manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a child grows, the child begins to learn that there is a certain time in the morning that he or she should be rising from bed which is generally at the same time or after the time the parents arise. Any time before the rising time, the child learns that he or she should remain in bed until the appropriate time. Unfortunately, depending on the time of year, the child""s rising time may or may not coincide with the rising of the sun which only serves to confuse the child.
In the past, many different types of clocks have been invented for a user to determine the time of day or night. Prior art clocks, however, generally do not provide any direct information to an observer, especially a child, as to whether it is daylight (rise time) or nighttime (sleep time). A young child is not able to observe a typical prior art clock to quickly determine whether it is time to get up or time to remain in bed.
There have been unsuccessful attempts in the prior art to have a simple clock device for assisting the child or others. The Cash, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,002, describes a clock having a housing which contains two internal disks and a motor for rotation of those disks on a shaft. An hour disk is provided having a shaded region representing night and an unshaded region representing day. The clock of the Cash patent merely indicates the hour of the day by pointing to a number on the disk face, and also graphically represents the amount of time from and to the previous and next sunrise or sunset. Due to the complexity of the clock and the multitude of moving numbers, nothing in the Cash patent""s clock assists a small child in determining whether it is time to rise or time to remain in bed.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a children""s timer device which assists a child in easily determining whether it is time to rise or time to remain in bed. Additionally, a need exists for a children""s timer device which indicates waking time and sleeping time in an easy and understandable manner. Furthermore, there exists a need for a children""s timer device which helps parents get a complete night""s sleep by teaching the child to remain in his or her room until an appropriate time.
The present invention is a children""s timer device for assisting children in determining the difference between waking time and sleeping time. The device comprises a housing having a viewing opening and a viewing cylinder rotatably mounted within the housing. The viewing cylinder has at least a first scenic image and a second scenic image with each scenic image alternatingly viewable through the viewing opening in the housing. Clock means are provided for setting a predetermined time period for viewing at least the first scenic image wherein upon rotation of the viewing cylinder to display only the first scenic image through the viewing opening, the entire first scenic image remains viewable through the viewing opening for the duration of the predetermined time period such that upon expiration of the predetermined time period, the viewing cylinder begins rotation and rotates until only the second scenic image is viewable through the viewing opening.
The present invention further includes a method for assisting children in determining the difference between waking time and sleeping time. The method comprises providing a housing, forming a viewing opening in the housing, providing a viewing cylinder having at least a first scenic image and a second scenic image, rotatably mounting the viewing cylinder within the housing such that each scenic image is alternatingly viewable through the opening in the housing, rotatably positioning the viewing cylinder until only the first scenic image is viewable through the opening, providing clock means for setting a predetermined time period for viewing the first scenic image, and automatically rotating the viewing cylinder to display only the second scenic image upon expiration of the predetermined time period upon expiration of the predetermined time period.
The present invention still further includes a timer device. The timer device comprises a substantially cylindrical enclosure having a closed end, an open end, and a substantially circular side wall. A viewing opening is formed in the side wall between the closed end and the open end. A viewing cylinder is rotatably mounted within the enclosure with the viewing cylinder having at least a first scenic image and a second scenic image and each scenic image alternatingly viewable through the viewing opening in the enclosure. A base plate is releasably secured to the open end of the enclosure, the base plate positionable on a surface. Clock means are mounted on the base plate for setting a predetermined time period for viewing at least the first scenic image such that the entire first scenic image remains viewable through the viewing opening for only the duration of the predetermined time period whereupon the viewing cylinder rotates until only the second scenic image is viewable through the viewing opening.